Let's Pretend

This fragrance is gorgeous. It’s the scent of a hostess welcoming you into her countryside home where she’s prepared a three course dinner for you to enjoy out on her sun-drenched terrace, all while she’s wearing something simple but flawless, like a matching beige cashmere set. When you hug her at the door, you feel both comforted and intrigued. She’s equally effortless and magnetic. Calm, yet energizing. That’s the closest I can come to describing it, as I find it difficult to pick out specific notes. It’s more about a feeling than a composition. If you want to smell effortlessly put-together, this is the fragrance to pick up. It does lean a bit more mature in character so it’s not what I’d call a youthful scent. Still, it absolutely embodies that ”THAT girl” energy. Probably one of the most blind buy-safe fragrances I’ve tested. My top perfume is still The Ghost in the Shell, so I don’t know if I’ll get a full bottle of this, but it’s still one of the most beautiful perfumes I’ve tried.

To me, the fragrance opens like a glass of Brut champagne with a slice of peach added to it. The peach smells quite naturalistic and noticeable, beautifully highlighted by osmanthus, which adds a delicate sweetness and softness. I don’t really detect saffron itself, I think it’s actually what gives me the sparkling champagne bubbles sensation 🫧. There is also a beautiful woody accord present, it smells very soft and slightly mineral-like. The fragrance feels very airy, with a pleasant and noticeable trail 🌬️ A great everyday scent 👌🏻

The interplay between the mandarin and peach is soooo good here. This is a very flirty fruitchouli that sits intimately on the skin. The photorealistic fruit aroma doesn't scream for attention. It sort of dances gently in the air. She's a fun and classy girl in light weight spring/summer bohemian style clothing. One of my favorite releases this summer from my favorite house!

Let's Pretend is beautiful, intimate, and feminine. It is one of a few saffron blends that I have enjoyed so far. I can still smell it on my skin the next day, even after a shower. Would love to smell it on my girl.

Beautiful and fresh scent, reminds me of fruity body wash from Bath and Body Works in the 2000s, but without the headache.

Very smooth, well blended mature version of Ghost in the Shell. It's fresh, office friendly and still unique.

the wood box for baoding balls i bought from a head shop wont stop spawning peaches

For me, Let’s Pretend is all about an electrified pink grapefruit. Bright, slightly crackling. It’s even refreshing in the heat, which surprised me. The overall impression is rather dry than juicy. It smells like a thin veil of grapefruit. But not bursting with juice or hyper-realistic, but more molecular, slightly desiccated, with subtle shimmering effects from pink pepper. Then the grapefruit smoothly shifts into a peach with a yogurt-like nuance - exactly like in Pêche Mirage by Guerlain, but that one is denser and more full-bodied, while Let’s Pretend is a bit more diluted and airy, with a grapefruit undertone. It feels as if the same peach molecule used in Guerlain was employed here as well. I don’t detect saffron as a distinct note. For me, it’s a modern cologne-type of smell built around citrusy, slightly “electrified” freshness and a semi-gourmand peach yogurt accord. I actually like the fragrance. It’s refreshing, well-made, and refined. I don’t really pick up any heavy amber-woody or modern steroid-like components. If you really focus on the base, you might pick up Akigalawood with its cool, peppery-woody, slightly metallic tone, but here it doesn’t stick out. Instead, it just creates a smooth, cool, pleasantly synthetic, softly sparkling base. There’s no strong projection or extreme longevity. The drydown is rather delicate, reminiscent of peach skin or osmanthus. But this doesn’t feel like ELDO at all. To my understanding, there’s no clear concept behind the fragrance. And I don’t quite get the name Let’s Pretend. What exactly are we pretending to be here? On the official ELDO website, it says: “Let’s Pretend is a playful fruity-spicy fragrance where juicy peach meets saffron and warm woods. Charming, elegant and irresistibly expressive, it becomes your invisible costume, revealing new facets of your personality.” That’s basically it. Even though the brand isn’t really my thing and feels quite distant from me conceptually, I can’t say anything bad about this fragrance. It struck me as very simple and easy to understand but very pleasant. What surprises me is the complete absence of a ‘selling story’, let alone the signature provocation the brand used to have.

Smells like a nice crystal/witchy shop that has incense burning in the wintertime. I love how this smells very naturally woody, and less of a cologne trying to be manly. This is definitely a unisex, but feminine leaning scent. The more and more I smell it on myself, I do really love the way it settles onto my skin and leaves me with this nice, fresh, sweet smelling woodiness. I feel very confident and put together when I put this on my skin, like a very effortless, unique, cool smelling fragrance that does not smell like a typical perfume or cologne you would find from designer fragrances.

Fruity and juicy, but woody and grown up. A little shampooy, more like a wearable reed diffuser. Work friendly. Very nice. Could be a signature for sure.

It’s like a more subdued you or someone like you

A pleasant spring scent, but leans feminine. Let's Pretend is a remarkably pleasant, clean, and sweet fragrance. My initial impression was very positive—it’s a smooth, highly enjoyable blend that is heavily focused on a velvety peach note paired with white florals. It isn't necessarily the most complex scent in the ELDO lineup, but the execution and balance are objectively very well done. After committing to a full skin wear, I’ve decided it’s not for my personal collection. While the fragrance itself is smooth and enjoyable, I’ve realized that a prominent peach core just isn't a profile I want to wear. It leans distinctly feminine in its character, and I think it would suit a woman much better than it fits my own style. It's a great, high-quality spring fragrance, but not one that earns a spot on my shelf. Note: I don't actually own this fragrance; I am writing this review based on my experience with the official Etat Libre d'Orange discovery set.

The opening is very peach shampoo-y, then it dries down into the exact scent of a guy fresh out of the bathroom after he just showered and shaved.

I advise against trying if akigalawood is an issue. It's still waaay strong. I hate akigalawood.

Fresh peach that leans slightly masculine.

New personality or new target audience? Quite a departure from the brand's usual quirky and magnetic offerings, Let's Pretend, while not entirely irrelevant, is surprisingly tame. The fragrance pyramid is clear: we encounter lovely peach notes, underscored by osmanthus and mandarin, accented with fairly subtle spices, resting on a base typical of the brand—a dark, slightly resinous woodiness. I'm not a big fan of fruity scents, and this one hasn't changed my mind. A bit too tart, a bit too naive, its sweetness is rather unpleasant to my nose, as the fruit is a little too juicy. However, this perfume's undeniable strength lies in introducing the brand to a younger audience, or one more inclined to prefer fruity dessert fragrances than venturing down the risky paths of the État Libre D'Orange catalog. The fruity facet is accessible and well-executed, making it easy to discover its composition and base notes. This fragrance can therefore serve as a bridge between the connoisseur and the novice. As for my experience, I wore this perfume in sweltering heat, but it didn't seem to thrive in such conditions (or perhaps it did so a little too much), as it became almost instantly transparent. I think this fragrance would be more vibrant in cooler weather, or at the very least, at night. So, if you like osmanthus or peach, there's very little chance you won't like it; the finesse of its execution will most likely delight you. I also note that Let's Pretend could be a gift for any teenager with a sweet tooth. I'll let you pretend; I personally can't.

An initial impression of peach, rose, and musk. Powdery, dry, feminine. I dislike it and I think it's the osmanthus that bothers me. This frag didn't last too long on my skin, and I was glad about it.

As an idea, Let’s Pretend is hot. ELdO finally expanded its fruity-spicy lineup, probably hoping to repeat the success of I Am Trash and Remarkable People. This 2026 summer release isn’t particularly daring, but frankly, I’d have flirted with it regardless. The note pyramid alone had me ready to commit crimes against my bank account. Crackling citrus, juicy peach, my favorite spices, pink pepper and saffron. Even the warm, resinous base looked promising. I’ve got several perfumes built around the same idea, and they all deliver. This should’ve been exactly my poison. The kind I’d buy first, ask questions later. As an actual perfume, I fucking hated Let’s Pretend. Smells like frutified household bleach. That’s all.

The peach and osmanthus combo is very pretty, it smells sweet, ripe, juicy. That is the nice part. The bad part is the harshness you get in the drydown. It feels like bleach, like a floor cleaner. I guess it is a huge dose of Akigalawood and georgywood which as you know are synthetic amber woody molecules that can come across very harsh on many people. Harsh. Peachy bleach. Harsh stuff.

It's Maria Callas by The Merchant of Venice and for a while, my vote was removed. In fact, it has the exact notes of several gorgeous perfumes rocking akigalawood and georgywood. The point of the Reminds Me Of section is to point out... what it reminds us of.